The meaning of enlightenment has changed greatly. Many are on the path to becoming enlightened humans, and may not even know it. What does it mean to live life as an awakened human? How do you know if you've achieved such a state? This article explores 12 traits that awakened humans exemplify in the new context of everyday living.
Many are on the path to enlightenment today. Some are pursuing this evolutionary drive consciously, while others are not even aware that they are “on the path.” Humanity is waking up.
Enlightenment, or awakening, used to be associated with saints and sages. We imagine an aged one crouched cross-legged in a cave, eating leaves and expounding great wisdom to those who manage to find him. If this is your vision of enlightenment, know that things have changed!
Enlightenment is available to everyone. At this time in our evolution, it’s one of the core drives within each of us. Whether we’re aware of it or not, it’s why we’re here on the planet at this time. Enlightenment also has nothing to do with religion. No matter what your religion, including if you have no religion at all, you may still be pursuing enlightenment. Awakening does not follow a prescriptive set of steps or principles. Instead, it is a way of being in the world.
What does it mean to move through daily, secular life in an enlightened state? Are you an awakened human? Here are 12 core traits to help you see if you are more enlightened than you may think.
The awakened human is:
1. Worthy. Have you let go of feeling small and purposeless? Are you able to love yourself fully? Do you respect yourself? Are you kind to yourself? Are you comfortable in your own skin? Do you feel you are significant? Do you know beyond a doubt that you belong here?
2. Responsible. Do you believe that you create everything in your life on some level? Have you given up playing the victim and blaming your past, outside circumstances, or other people for where you are in your life right now? Do you accept responsibility for all that happens to you? Can you find the lessons in your creations in order to move through them to the solutions?
3. Loving. Have you let go of harmful habits and beliefs? Do you refrain from aggressive or reactive behavior? Are you able to recognize when your thoughts, feelings or actions are damaging yourself or others? Do you focus on light rather than darkness?
4. Forgiving. Have you forgiven those you feel have hurt you? Have you forgiven yourself? Does forgiving always come more naturally to you than blaming or judging?
5. Balanced. Do you draw from your intuition as much as you do from your intellect? Do you temper rational thinking with emotion, and vise versa? Do you feel you use your “head” and “heart” in equal measure?
6. Tolerant. Do you mind your own business? Do you allow others to be, think, believe, and act as they wish to? Do you refrain from gossip? Do you suspend judgmental thoughts? Can you honestly say that everything is just as it should be in the world?
7. Peaceful. Are you free of worry? Do you trust that everything is unfolding in your life as it should? Do you believe the solutions are coming if they haven’t arrived yet? Are you able to stay focused on the present rather than the future?
8. Connected. Do you feel part of a larger plan? Do you sense your connection to family, to community, to humanity, and to the planet itself?
9. Empowered. Are you able to manifest the abundance you need? Perfect health? Loving relationships? Meaningful work or service in your life? Do you understand that you are a co-creator of reality?
10. On purpose. Do you know why you’re here on the planet? Are you pursuing your passions, and allowing them to evolve as you do? Do you feel that you are on track in terms of your current “contract”? Do you recognize your unique gifts and talents, and allow them to flourish?
11. Unattached. Do you allow things to be as they are? Are you able to move gracefully with change? Do you remain open to other views, ideas, and possibilities? Are you able to flow rather than hold on to what you have? Can you stay in “the now”?
12. In love with life. Do you celebrate each new day? Do you walk around in a state of love and gratitude for the magnificence of all existence? Can you feel the beauty of it all, even when things appear ugly on the surface? Can you step back far enough to see the grandness of humanity, of the Earth, of the Cosmos?
If you do not yet recognize these traits within you, consider this list a wonderful set of attributes to aim for should you desire to be more enlightened in your life. Like any list, these traits are not static and you may not exemplify them to their highest degree every single day. This doesn’t mean, however, that you aren’t an awakened human.
Enlightenment doesn’t mean perfection. Nor does it mean that you are suddenly free of your very humanness. In the new energy of today, living an awakened life is not about removing yourself from everyday living and all the challenges that it brings. Instead, it means meeting these challenges with knowingness, grace, empowerment, calm, trust, and humor.
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